Downey baseball claims sole possession of first place

Long Beach Press-Telegram Prep Sports Blog

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DOWNEY >> After a battle of first-place teams, Downey High now stands alone atop the San Gabriel Valley League with just three games left following a 4-1 win over Paramount on Tuesday afternoon.

The difference came down to Downey senior Tyler Tungate (7-2), who entered with a 0.82 ERA. Tungate struck out six and gave up just four hits over seven innings.

“Today I just had a lot of the control of my fast ball, a lot of movement on it. I didn’t really use too much offspeed,” said Tungate as he iced his arm. “I just go it in and out of my guys’ hands and put the ball into play for my defense.”

The Pirates made it interesting before taking the loss, getting two runners on base with just one out. But Tungate forced a line drive to third baseman Francisco Murillo, who ignited the double play to seal the win.

Junior Randy Labaut got the Vikings (16-8, 6-1) on the board first in the third with a deep RBI single to center, scoring shortstop Gabriel Llanes.

But the all-important insurance runs came in the bottom of the fifth, sparked by a timely single by junior Jacob Cook. Leadoff hitter Llanes got on base with a bunt single and stole second, but senior Bryan Sedano (4-4) clamped down, forcing a pop fly and a strikeout. With two outs, Cook smashed a 3-2 pitch to left field to score Llanes.

Cook’s RBI was followed by an RBI double from Cesar Torres and an RBI single from Ernest Davila to put the Vikings up 4-0.

“It feels great to be the hero, to step up big for my team,” said Cook on sparking the three-run spurt. “I love this team, so it just feels good to be able to step up in that role.”

Paramount (11-14, 5-2) struck back after that, scoring its lone run thanks to a close call at second.

With two outs and teammate Luis Martinez at first, senior Joseph Torres hit a shallow hopper to Llanes at short. Llanes went for the force out, tagging second, but the umpire called Martinez safe to the dismay of the Downey fans. An error moved Martinez to third, and hescored on a Salvador Delgado single to center to make it 4-1.

Paramount then loaded the bases, but Tungate forced a slow roller to Labaut at first for the final out.

Downey will look to complete the sweep against Paramount on Friday and then face Dominguez, the last-place team, next week. A team in total control of its destiny.

“That’s big,” said Downey head coach Jess Gonzalez. “And Friday is another big game, but it’s nice to get the first one.”